Niko Tatopoulos
Category:Characters | aliases = Nick Tatopoulos Doctor Niko Tatopoulos The Worm Guy | film = | franchise = Godzilla | image = | notability = | type = | race = | gender = | base of operations = New York City, New York | known relatives = | status = | born = 1962 | died = | 1st appearance = Godzilla (1998) | final appearance = | actor = Matthew Broderick }} Niko Tatopoulos is a fictional scientist featured in the ''Godzilla'' film series. He is the main character from the 1998 American film version of Godilla, and was played by actor Matthew Broderick. Biography Niko Tatopoulos was a biologist for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, studying the mutative growth cycle of certain breeds of earthworms. During his college years, he was dating a girl named Audrey Timmonds, but they eventually went their separate ways to pursue their respective careers. After spending some time collecting samples in Russia near the old Chernobyl facility, the United States government required his expertise in studying a sample of a slightly larger variety than what he was accustomed to. This turned out to be a gigantic iguana-like animal, whose form and size was mutated as an effect of nuclear testing in French Polynesia. The animal, dubbed Godzilla by news broadcaster Charles Caiman, made its way to New York City, and Tatopoulos accompanied the United States Army at the evacuation perimeter. It was Tatopulos who had discovered that the Godzilla monster was pregnant. Niko, Audrey Timmonds, Victor "Animal" Palotti, and French investigator Philippe Roach saw the effects of this when they discovered dozens of eggs inside of Madison Square Garden. The eggs hatched, but their issue was a bit more than they were willing to handle. Though smaller than their mother/father, these junior Godzillas were more than enough to make a crazy situation even crazier. Niko and the others raced around the Garden, but eventually managed to escape, locking the dangerous baby reptiles inside. U.S. Air Force jets bombed Madison Square Garden, destroying most of the animals, but one succeeded in eluding them. This attack awakened the adult Godzilla, who emerged from the ruins of the Garden and resumed its attack against the American military and pedestrians alike. Niko, Audrey, Animal and Roach fled the scene in a taxi, but Godzilla pursued them, ultimately driving them across the Brooklyn Bridge. The Air Force attacked again, striking the monster with enough firepower to finally kill it. Niko watched solemnly as this fantastic creature died mere inches away from him. Notes & Trivia * * Niko Tatopoulos's name suggests that he is of Greek ancestry. * A recurring gaff in the film is that people have difficulty pronouncing Niko's surname, to which he persistently corrected them saying, "It's Tatopoulos". * Actor Matthew Broderick is also known for playing everyone's favorite teenage deadbeat, Ferris Bueller in the 1986 comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. * Another version of Niko Tatopoulos appeared in the animated television program Godzilla: The Series. In the show, Niko was voiced by future Sharknado fighter Ian Ziering. * A pastiche of Niko Tatopoulos appeared in the "That Hurts Me" segment from the comedy sketch series Robot Chicken. He was voiced by Seth Green in this skit. See also External Links * Category:Godzilla (1998)/Characters Category:1962/Character births Category:Sci-fi film characters Category:Matthew Broderick/Characters Category:Characters with biographies